


Purple Eyes and a Black Heart

by Exceedingly



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2006-03-06
Packaged: 2019-04-07 14:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14083053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exceedingly/pseuds/Exceedingly
Summary: Tak is back, though not through her own devices. Her ship is hit by some mysterious object flying through space, and she crashlands back on Earth. What events will follow? Read and find out.





	1. The Not So Triumphant Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an old fanfic I wrote when I was like... 16. Transferring it from ff.net to here, so AO3's got a more complete collection of my works.
> 
> Original Header:
> 
> "Disclaimer: I don't, unfortunately, own Invader Zim. If I did, it would still be on TV, because I would have killed Nickelodeon and moved it to Cartoon Network. Yes... so... anyways, it's not mine, I'm using it, get over it. I don't have money anyway.
> 
> This is going to be a story about Tak, after she returns to Earth. This first chapter is more of a prologue kind of thing, and is therefore quite short. Future updates will be much longer. And I'm not sure who I'm going to eventually have Tak get together with, if you're wondering, since it's a romance. I'm still thinking it through. Anyways, hope you all like the little bit I have so far. Don't hesitate to leave a review, it's always welcome. Unless of course you're just flaming to be a jackass, in which case I will ignore you and make fun of your mother. Have a nice day."

Space... it was a big place. She had been to many places within it... from Irk to Conventia, and from Dirt to Blorch... She had seen it all... And yet... all she knew was a fraction of the overwhelmingly large entity that was space... Only a tiny spec of the vast and endless universe...

But of this vast universe, she did know one part quite well. In fact, she knew it far better than she had ever wanted to... far better than any man or alien had ever known it. Yes... she knew this area of space, orbiting the Earth, very, very well.

She had been there... floating... for so long now... It seemed like forever... though her pod's display screen, one of the only parts of the broken down wreck that was still in operation, registered the fact that it had only been a year. A year. One long... endless... dismal... dreary... year. A year of sitting in a chair, in a nonoperational and cramped space pod, with a malfunctioning SIR unit floating around her head, doing absolutely nothing. There was nothing to do, and even if there had been, there was no room to do it in. All she could do was sit there... staring at either the display screen, the space all around her, or the floating SIR unit.

Once again, she clenched her fists in anger, as, once again, her thoughts drifted to the idiot responsible for this hell that she was having to endure - that stupid, idiotic reject that had foiled her plan to take over the Earth. She let out a small screech, and pulled at her long, curled antennae, as her rage boiled inside once again. Damn that Zim! Damn him, damn him, damn him! How could he beat her? How was it even possible? How on Irk could that stupid defective weakling be able to not only wrench what was rightfully hers from her grasp, **again** , but hurl her into space, to be forever stuck within the orbit of the miserable planet she had come so close to conquering? It just wasn't fair! Her life could have been good... hell, it could've been **great** if it weren't for him! GRAAAHHHH!

Just as her second shriek that hour came to a close, she noticed something different in the inky blackness between her and Earth. There was something... something small... getting nearer and nearer. She squinted, yet she still couldn't tell what it was... she could, however, tell that it was heading her way, and fast. Her eyes widened at this realization... What could it be...? Could it possibly help her out of this unending nightmare...? Anything would be better than this... ...even death.

And then the object was upon her. It came up too sudden and too fast for her to truly recognize what it was; all she could remember afterwards was a flash of something white... something feathery. And then, she was thrust into a spinning and whirling ride of pure chaos, as whatever the object had been crashed into the side of her ship, sending her careening out of the Earth's orbit, and into the outermost layer of its atmosphere. She plummeted down towards the planet's surface, spinning and tossing along the way. She screamed, and her claws dug into the display screen, as her world was thrown into disarray. She grew nauseous from the constant flipping, and a burning and liquidy substance was slowly rising up in her throat. Next thing she knew, there was vomit all around her, and her mouth and tongue burned. She screamed once again, as flames licked at the sides of her pod, and a horrible, high-pitched shrieking pierced her ears - the sound from her rapid and uncontrolled descent through the sky. She knew this was the end... and she hoped it would come quickly.

And then... it was over. With a jerk that threw her into the pod's windshield, she came to a complete and utter stop. She just lay there... surrounded by sparks and regurgitated food, her brain unable to think underneath the constant pounding in her head. How long she lay there, she was unsure, but as the pounding slowly died down, she finally managed to force herself up. Her arms shook uncontrollably, and she stared around, her vision blurred, her eyes searching for the button that would open the pod door, and let her out of this stinking and sparking prison. A small smile formed on her shaky lips as her eyes locked onto the button, and her hand collapsed over it. A fresh breeze was the last thing she felt, as she dropped to the ground, and gave into the darkness within her mind.


	2. No Way Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Old Header:
> 
> "Disclaimer: Yep... I still don't own Zim. Such a pity...
> 
> Wow, I've already got four reviews. I wasn't expecting that many so quickly. Thanks, guys. It looks like the popular vote is for a DATR... which I must say is what I'm leaning towards. GypsyWolf, I have to disagree with you. DATR can work, if written by a competent author, and developed well. But, don't despair yet, as I'm still not completely decided on the matter. Oh, and by the way, I can't promise I'll always update this soon, but I will try to update rather frequently. Well, I'm glad you all enjoy this, so without further distraction, let's get on with the show!"

She suddenly found herself awake. Her eyes were still closed, but she had indeed regained consciousness. And the first thing she noticed upon awaking was the fact that she was not lying face-first in the ground, and she couldn't smell the smoke or hear the sparks of her downed pod. She attempted to open her eyes, but found she was lacking the energy required to do so. Her body felt sore, and from the slight pain, she guessed one of her antennae was either bent or broken. She felt far too weak to move at all, so she just lay there for a while, trying to observe her surroundings without the use of her eyes. She could hear birds chirping from somewhere nearby, and the wind made a small whistle as it blew. She was lying on her back, and whatever it was she was lying on was not solid ground - it was soft, and rather warm, and she felt she could lie on it for years without ever feeling uncomfortable. A noise... some kind of thumping noise, could be heard in the distance. In fact... it sounded almost as if it was coming from a long ways below her... as if it was in the ground or something.

Finally, she felt she might be able to open her eyes, and she attempted to do so once more. This time, she managed to get them to small slits, but all that gave her was a blurred image of blue and black, with light coming from somewhere to the right. She closed her eyes again, slightly frustrated, and then tried to open them once more. This time, she was able to get them open far enough to actually view her surroundings, and what she saw surprised her.

First of all, she was indoors. A dark blue ceiling was above her, along with a lamp that seemed to come from somewhere behind. Lights dotted the ceiling, though none of them were turned on at the moment. To her right was an open circular window along with two other on the same wall, and from the nearest window the sun was smiling down upon her, its happy rays neither too bright or too warm. To her left was a blank computer screen, sitting on a desk littered with scrunched and scribbled upon paper. Not much else was in the room, making it seem rather bare. A couple of posters lay on the wall, and there was a small dresser with a statue of some sort atop it a little ways in front of her, but the room still felt barren. Several feet in front of her was a closet, but it was closed. The door to the room lay ajar on the far end of the left wall, and the thumping noise she had noticed before seemed to be drifting in from it.

Where the heck was she? How had she gotten here? What in Irk was going on? She had to get out of here, had to find a ship, had to get back to Irk, had to -

She stopped, as she heard a different noise. The sound of feet upon stairs. And now the sound of feet slowly walking across soft carpet. Someone was coming. Her antennae twitched, and her hands reluctantly squeezed together, as she anxiously awaited the coming entity.

A purple-haired head poked into the room, and squinting eyes opened slightly to gaze upon her. She stared back, not sure who it was she was looking at. The figure turned right around and slowly walked back the way it had came, as a sharp female voice shouted "Hey, Dib! Your alien's awake!"

Dib...? Why did that name sound familiar...? She had little time to ponder the answer to this question as she heard feet pounding up the stairs, and then sprinting down the hall.

A black-haired kid with glasses leaped through the door, his black jacket flying behind him like a cape. Part of his hair was pulled back, resembling a scythe, and he had a rather large forehead. A big goofy smile was currently plastered upon his face.

"Tak, you're awake!" he practically screamed in excitement, spit flying from his mouth.

Tak's eye twitched as the spit flew, and she looked at Dib quizzically. "Have we met...?"

Dib's legs were convulsing in their place as he said, "Yeah, a year ago? Remember? You came to my school last year, and we made fun of Zim, and then you turned out to be an alien, and then you tried to take over the world!" He said this as if it was good she had tried to take over his planet. His overwhelming excitement sickened her.

She narrowed her eyes, which had finally regained their strength, as she continued to stare up at him. "Dib... yes... You were the kid who knew Zim was an alien, right...?" Dib shook his head up and down like a puppy would wag its tail. Tak's eyes narrowed, and her lips managed to form a partial scowl. "You and your sister broke into my base, didn't you?"

This seemed to cut away some of Dib's excessive happiness. He cast his eyes to the ground, his face a combination of embarrassment and nervousness. "Ah... yes. Um... well, we... or um... I... didn't mean to cause any harm." He forced a small chuckle, and attempted another smile. "I guess I'm just a little too curious for my own good."

He looked back up, to see that Tak was still scowling at him.

"Um... but, that's in the past, right? And now you're here, in my room, too weak to move... on my bed..." Dib's eyes widened. "Oooh, that sounds bad. Uh, the point is, you're here now, and you can help me stop Zim with your awesome alien technology and everything!" His smile slowly grew excited again as he said this.

Tak's face remained stoic. "What in Irk makes you think I'll help you do anything?" She was starting to get irritated with this stupid human's unfounded excitement.

Dib's smile faded away once more. "Um... well... I dunno. I just kinda figured, maybe... since you hate Zim and everything, and I helped you out a while ago and all..." His voice had gradually died down to a mumble as the sentence had gone on.

Tak's scowl slid into a glare as his half-formed sentence came to a close. "Well, you thought wrong." Her arms had finally regained part of their former strength by this time, so she had painfully been lifting herself up to a sitting position while he had been speaking. She grunted in pain as she finally achieved the position she had been striving for.

"But... I..." Dib no longer looked at all happy, rather, he looked desperate. "I dragged you out of your crashed pod! I cleaned you up, and let you sleep in my bed... for two days! And I fixed your ship that you left behind while you were gone... of course.. I did that more for myself... but... that's not the point."

"You have my ship?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I fixed it up, too. I washed it, and waxed it, and vacuumed out the seat, and -"

"You do realize you talk far too much, right?"

"Yes... People tell me that a lot." said Dib, casting his eyes to the ground once more.

"Then I will take my ship and leave, so I can go tell The Tallest to destroy this miserable rock you call a planet." She pushed her legs off the bed, and tried to stand, but her legs crumpled beneath her, sending her to the floor, right at Dib's feet. Dib almost immediately reached down to help her get up - and he did - though she would have stopped him, had she had all her strength back.

"Well... I think before you leave you should rest a little more. You don't seem to be yourself yet..." He gently picked her up and put her back on his bed, but immediately shrank away after receiving another glare.

"I have no desire to stay in this filthy... house." She coughed. "I demand you bring me to my ship at once!" she said, her forceful yell sounding more like a pitiful squeak.

Dib sighed. "Look, I'm sorry Tak, but I just can't do that. You can't even stand... Just get some rest, and I'll bring you some food later."

And with that he left, before she could offer more resistance. She continued to glare at the open door for a while afterwards, but after a minute or two, she accepted her current predicament with a heavy sigh. She lay her head back on Dib's blue and fluffy pillow, and turned onto her left side. She always slept on her left side.

She wasn't entirely sure why, but she hated that stupid human Dib almost as much as Zim right now, even though he had done nothing unkind to her, and had actually helped her out. She sighed again, and put it out of her mind. She didn't care whether she hated the human or not. All of his race was doomed to either a life of slavery or death anyways. Her lips formed a small smile, as she thought of Dib and the rest of the humans in rags and chains, doing her bidding, while their pitiful cities burned down around them. And then she thought of Zim, bound and at her mercy, to be tortured for as long as she wanted... To be whipped and beaten... To be humiliated, as she had been... To be forever her play toy she could use to vent her frustration... With these happy thoughts in mind, she soon fell into a deep sleep, the smile still on her face.

Tak awoke to the smell of food. Irken food. Her eyes snapped open at this realization, and she sat straight up in the bed. A crack of her spine proved that to be a bad idea, and she let loose a screech of pain. The pain subsiding, she looked to her left to see a very surprised Dib standing next to her, with a tray of food in his hand.

"Um, hello again." he said, his voice a little shaky. He thrust the tray out to her, and she quickly snatched it up. She hadn't eaten in a year, although she could have gone without food at least another six months. Choosing to not think about where the human had gotten Irken food, she shoveled it down her throat, not at all worrying about seeming rude or vulgar. Dib just stood there, seemingly transfixed with her movements. She could tell he was watching her the entire time. He just stood there with an odd look about his face, even after the food was gone, and she was wiping her mouth clean with his bed sheet.

Now that her stomach was full again, she turned her mind to the question she had discarded earlier. "Dib, how and where did you procure Irken food?"

Dib's eyes flashed back to life as he realized he was being spoken to. "Oh, the food?" She nodded slightly. "I got it from your ship. I asked it if it had any Irken food, and it said it had a food synthesizer." Dib thought for a moment. "You know, it seemed to become easier to work with once I told it the food was for you..."

Tak chuckled. "Of course it did. It is my ship after all."

"Oh, yes... of course..."

They sat there in an awkward silence for a minute, Dib looking rather embarrassed, and Tak looking contemplative. She was trying to think of a way for him to take her to her ship. She settled upon the direct approach once more.

"Hey, Dib. Take me to my ship."

He looked at her. "Can you stand?"

Tak pushed her legs off the bed again, and this time, her legs did not collapse. She stood to her full height, which was only slightly taller than Dib. She glared down at him, feeling more powerful from this change in perspective.

"Yes, I can. Now I demand you take me to my ship!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay. You don't have to yell. Follow me." said Dib, a little too easily. He was up to something...

She eyed him suspiciously as he led her out the door in his room, and down the stairs, into a moderately large living room. The purple-haired girl from before was sitting on a big blue couch, watching a humongous display screen attached to the living room wall. Tak grimaced as a fat pig-man with human worm-babies and pizza all over him greeted her eyes. She would never understand why humans watched that... 'television'.

Tak was led out the back door, and around to a much larger, and closed door. She watched as Dib pressed a few buttons on a panel nearby, which made the large door creak upwards, revealing a work room, with her ship in the center.

"My ship!" Tak squealed with joy, sprinting over to it. "Finally, I can get out of this worm hole! Ship, open up and let your mistress inside."

The ship didn't move.

Puzzled, Tak tried again. "Ship, open up and let your mistress inside!"

"No," came a voice that was definitely not the voice she had programmed the ship with, many years ago.

"What? How dare you defy your mistress! And why do you sound different?" She rounded on Dib. "What did you do to my ship?"

"Uh... well, you see... I wasn't exactly expecting you back... especially so soon... And your ship wouldn't listen to me when it had your personality in it... So I just kinda..." He gulped. "Overrode your data with my own."

Tak's eyes widened, and her hands balled themselves into fists. "YOU DID WHAT?"

"It still works... and you can always just put your personality back -"

Tak leaped at him. Her hands instantly wrapped themselves around the boy's throat, and she let loose a cry of rage. Gagging, Dib put his hands up to stop her, and after a slight struggle, he was able to pull his neck free. He pushed her over onto her back, his hands still around her wrists. She struggled futilely, and after she realized that wasn't working, she thrust her knee upwards, right into Dib's crotch. His eyes widened as all the air in his lungs escaped, and he collapsed onto his side, his legs squeezing together in an effort to stop the pain.

"Serves you right," said Tak, rising to her feet, and dusting herself off. "You wouldn't have come out of that one alive if I weren't in this weakened condition."

Dib, still rolling around on the floor in pain, could do nothing but moan. Whether that was in reply to her statement, or if it was just from the pain, Tak was never sure.

"Okay... so the ship doesn't recognize me as its mistress anymore... But I'll soon change that." She walked over to the ship, pressed a button near the bottom of it, and climbed inside. She looked over the display screen and controls, re-familiarizing herself with them. She pressed a few of the buttons, which gave her a screen asking for a password. She typed in her password, and pressed enter. The screen changed, telling her that her password was invalid. Frowning, she tried again. The same thing happened.

"Human, what is the new password to my ship?"

Dib had finally stopped rolling around, and was now sitting cross-legged on the ground, taking deep breaths. "It's... Mysterious... Mysteries..."

Tak lightly coughed in acknowledgment, and entered the code. She was greeted with this: YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS LEFT UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT, HAVE A NICE DAY. With a gasp, Tak hurled herself out of the ship, and started to run for it, but she didn't get far, as she tripped over Dib and fell flat on her face.

3... 2... 1. An explosion shook the ground around her, and she felt dust and debris against her back. Coughing and sputtering, she rose to her feet and stared at the smoking remains of what was her ride out of this hell-hole. Despair began to overtake her when she heard a dark laugh from behind, and she turned around to see the purple-haired girl standing at the entrance of the room, a drink in her hand.

"Serves you right, Dib." said the girl, taking a sip of her drink, and slowly walking off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Old Footer:
> 
> "Isn't Gaz evil? I love her for that... I may try to hook her up too, but I'm not yet sure. I'll get back with you all on it... Hope you enjoyed that little bit of craziness."


	3. Barely Controlled Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Header:
> 
> "Disclaimer: I keep writing, and yet I still don't own Zim... why is that?
> 
> Wow, I can't thank you all enough for reviewing. It really helps me stay motivated and keep going. Utopian, I especially enjoyed your comments, and am ecstatic that you added my story to your favorites. I might attempt Gaz romance, but I'm not sure... it would be quite difficult, as you said. I'll ponder on it. And to let everyone know, I've pretty much definitely decided to make this a DATR. And now, let the craziness continue!"

Tak was in shock. She could hardly breathe. Her mind refused to think. Only one thought flashed within her, over and over again, until it reverberated within her entire being: YOU'RE STUCK HERE, AND THERE'S NO WAY OUT.

"Tak...? Are you okay...?" said a voice from somewhere far away, as a hand touched her shoulder.

Tak gasped, and fell to her knees. She didn't fully realize it, but she was sobbing. "I'm... stuck here..." She buried her face in her arms. "...forever..."

Tears of both sadness and anger flowed from her violet eyes, and her antennae pressed low against her head. She shook uncontrollably. Her emotions were completely overwhelming her - for the first time in her life.

She was stuck here forever... Just as she had finally become free of her space prison... Just as her hope had risen that she might see Irk once more... Just as she had begun to think her life might possibly turn out alright... But she had gone from one hell right into another... And this time, there was no way out... No way out... no way out... _no way out_... NO WAY OUT!

But wait! Her shaking stopped abruptly, and her antennae perked up. There was still Zim! Zim had spacecraft that could travel to Irk... A smile began to form on her face, which sharply contrasted with the tears still in her eyes. Maybe there wasa way out of here... maybe her life couldturn out alright!

She suddenly leaped to her feet, sending Dib, who had apparently been standing behind her, to the ground. She spun around to face him, tears flying from her face, and her cape flapping behind her. "Dib, do you know how to get to Zim's house from here?"

Dib's eyes widened behind his skewed glasses. "Zim's house? Why in the world would you want to go there?"

Tak's eyes narrowed. "Answer the question, human."

Dib's eyes widened even more. "Y-yes. I do."

"Good. Take me to him..." Tak's smile slid its way to an evil grin.

"Take you to him?"

"Yes... that **is** what I just said."

"I can't just take you to him! Do you have any idea what he would do to you?"

"Of course I know what he'd try to do to me. I was... should've been, an Invader, after all."

"And you still want to just waltz on up to his house?"

Tak rolled her eyes. "Yes. He has a ship I can use to get off this planet."

Dib looked incredulous. "Wha... how... what are you not understanding here? You can't just walk up to his house, and expect him to give you his ship!"

"That's why I'm going to steal it. It and the rest of his base should be mine anyways. I should have been an Invader, not him."

"And how are you going to steal it? Despite him being incompetent, his security is quite good."

"Simple, you'll tell me all you know of his security, and I'll devise an ingenious way around it."

Dib had a very disturbing look on his face. It looked as if he had both eaten something really sour, and been whacked on the head with a bat. "That's your plan? You really think you can figure out a way around his security that easily?"

Tak glared at him, offended by his doubt of her abilities. Of course she could get past Zim's security! She had trained herself for years, and was an expert in stealth and infiltration!

She continued to glare at him, and he just stared back. Neither blinked. Finally, Tak said, with very apparent bitterness, "I don't need your help. If you're unwilling to give it to me, I'll just leave. I'm practically an Irken Invader; I can handle this myself. "

With that, she strode past him, and out to the sidewalk. She looked either way, and activated her spider legs. Then she sprung to the left, activated her cloaking device, and was gone.

Dib sat there for a few minutes, his mind in the overload stage. Why had she run off? Why did she get so angry? What the hell had just happened?

"Heh. Looks like your girlfriend left you."

Dib turned his head to the right, to see his sister Gaz, the purple-haired girl, standing nearby once again. She didn't have a drink this time, just a smirk.

Dib stared at her, confusion and anger in his eyes.

"She's... not my girlfriend..."

"Pshfft. Whatever. Point is, she's gone, and she's angry. With you." Gaz's left eye squinted open as her smirk grew a little more.

"But... why? What'd I do?" Dib looked to the ground, hurt, and very, very confused.

Gaz rolled her eyes. "You doubted her abilities, of course. Not very good at understanding people, huh?" She sniffed. "But then of course you aren't... you never have been. That's why I had to exact revenge upon you just now."

Dib looked up at her again. "What?" He stared for a minute, and then his eyes widened. "You did that?"

Gaz's smile was now the biggest Dib had seen it since they were toddlers. "If by 'that', you mean 'cause your alien ship to explode'... Then yes, yes I did."

"But... why? How could you?"

Gaz chuckled. "Because you can't seem to get it through your thick skull that you don't own the cereal. You just don't."

Dib's jaw fell open. "You blew up an alien ship over cereal?"

Gaz's eyes were slits once more as she shrugged in reply, and then turned to go back inside the house.

Dib leaped to his feet, and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Oh no you don't! You just ruined my life, over **cereal**! I'm not going to let you go!"

Gaz turned to face him, her eyes wide and furious as she looked at his hand upon her shoulder. One of her eyes twitched. "You're... touching... me..." Barely controlled hate filled each word.

Dib ignored her rising anger, and grabbed both of her shoulders. He was the angriest he had ever been in his entire life, and he wasn't about to let her get away with it. He pushed her up against the wall of the house, his grip on her tightening. "You're going to help me save Tak from Zim, and you're goingto do it right now, unless you never want to go to Bloaty's Pizza Hog with Dad ever again."

Gaz's head snapped forward, and she stared Dib straight in the eyes. There was the smallest hint of fear in her face, although it was uncertain whether this was from Dib's unbridled anger or his malicious threat. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Fine. But get your hands off me."

Dib let go of her shoulders, although his anger had not completely ebbed. He took a deep breath, trying to become calm again. Calmness being reached, he then turned around, and pointed in the direction Tak had gone.

"Okay. She went this way, straight towards Zim, so we'll just - ACK!"

Dib's airway had just been severely constricted, by Gaz's hand around his throat.

"If you ever touch me again, I won't hesitate to kill you."

She let him go, and stomped off in the direction he had pointed. Her hands were balled into fists.

Dib coughed, and rubbed his neck. He was lucky that was all she had done, and he knew it. But why did he get so angry...? Why did he lose control...? He had barely been able to keep himself from grabbing **her** neck... True, that was probably one of the worst things she had done to him... recently, at least... But he still had never acted that violently before. He had always managed to stay relatively cool and collected whenever anger overtook him.

He shrugged. No time to think about that, he had to help Tak. Despite her abilities, Dib couldn't get himself to believe she could stand up to Zim in his own base, armed with nothing but her pack. An image of her lying on the floor, bleeding, flit across his mind. He gasped, and ran to catch up to Gaz, hoping he wasn't too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Footer:
> 
> "Yes, I know it's kinda short. The next chapter is going to be pretty long though, and should more than make up for it. So don't despair! Isn't Gaz awesome? I'm going to have to make her a major part in this... and maybe write her her own story at some point... But I'll of course finish this first. Tak's story has seeped too deeply into my mind for me to write anything else anyway. I love you, Tak!
> 
> Okay... I'm done now..."


	4. Popcorn, Squirrels, and Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Header:
> 
> "Disclaimer: One of these days, Zim will be mine... It's just a matter of time...
> 
> Wow... It's been ten days since my last update. Sorry, I really didn't mean for it to take this long. I blame school... damn you, school... Well, anyways, now I've updated, so rejoice! We've got a whole lot of fun here in this chapter (we being the collective group of people within my head), though I should point out that the second half of this, when it switches back to Tak, was written while I was tired. I think it still turned out well, but I just wanted to make that little fact clear. Also, when it switches back and forth between viewpoints, there tend to be jumps in time. The first one is a jump forward, the second a small jump back, and the third a longer jump back. I don't think it's too hard to understand, so I think you all should be able to handle it... Oh, and one last thing, if anyone wants to leave an anonymous review, those are now accepted. I didn't realize I had that feature turned off, but apparently I did, and I thank Maran Zelde for alerting me to that fact. And now, on with the insanity!"

A shiver ran down Tak's spine. This planet's sun was much too close, and she still couldn't get herself used to it. She scampered down the sidewalk atop her spider legs, looking from side to side in an effort to locate Zim's house. She had followed him there once, but she couldn't remember the way she had gone, and even then, Dib's house was in a different part of town...

Dammit! Her mind was once again slipping towards the Earth boy. What the hell was up with that kid? Why was he helping her so much? He seemed to care... or else, pretend to... But why? She had tried to take over his planet, and turn his people into slaves! In fact, she still planned to do that, and yet he was constantly trying to be friendly towards her... It just didn't add up... Why would an enemy care anything about her?

Grrraaahh! She slammed her fist into the concrete. Her spider legs had retracted, and she was crouching down on the ground, with her cloaking device still active.

She growled... she must put these thoughts behind her... Now that a path had been laid out before her, she had to take it, and she couldn't let other thoughts get in her way. The human boy was trivial anyways, and she could always make him a personal slave later, if he still held her curiosity. She smirked. Oh what fun it would be to have her own personal slaves...

Chuckling, she activated her spider legs once more, and leapt to the roof of the building behind her. She scanned the area below, determined to find Zim's house. There it was! She could recognize the hideously disguised base anywhere. Her smirk grew a little, and her eye narrowed. "I'm coming for you, Zim..."

The door burst open, and Dib leaped onto the tiled floor of Zim's living room.

"What have you done with her, Zim? I won't let you get away with this!"

Dib looked around, to find where his adversary was lurking. It was the same room that he had been in many times, almost always without permission. The big tv still sat near the wall to the right, and the creepy green monkey picture still hung on the left wall. The couch lay beneath the picture, and currently both GIR and Zim were sitting on it, with popcorn in-between themselves. Zim's hand, filled with that popcorn, was right in front of his mouth, and his eyes, which were currently a mixture of confusion and outrage, were staring straight at Dib.

"What have I done with who? What are you doing in my house, Dib-human?"

Zim was just watching tv...?Dib's eyes widened again. They were going to get stuck like that soon... "I... you... Where's Tak?"

It felt as if holes were being bored into Dib's skull, as Zim's eyes narrowed. "Tak...? Isn't she in space somewhere, floating about?" He said this last part along with a hand movement.

Dib gulped. So... either Tak hadn't been there... or she'd so far remained undetected... But for how long...?

"Dib-human! Either answer me or get out!" An angry glare still met Dib's eyes, but Zim was apparently still relaxed enough to scratch one of his antennae. "You of course know that I would normally capture you and dissect you or something... But GIR and I are currently in the middle of watching a movie, which you rudely interrupted."

GIR, who had somehow managed to stay quiet this entire time, finally interjected. "We're watching Exploding Space Penguins vs. The Cannibal Cabbage!"

The high pitched squeal of GIR's voice pierced Dib's ears like a knife, and forced him to wince in pain.

"Oh..." he said, his ears still ringing, "um... I see..." A drop of sweat slid down Dib's throat, and he slowly backed up. "Well... I'll just be... going... then..."

"Good. Come GIR, let us continue watching... THE PENGUINS!" Zim grabbed up the remote that had been lying next to him and turned away from Dib, now completely unconcerned with him.

"But I want some more popcorn!"

"Then go get it yourself! Zim is comfortable!"

This was the last thing Dib heard, as he backed out the door and tenderly closed it. He sighed, but not in relief.

Where was Tak now, if not at Zim's? It didn't make any sense, she had made it quite clear where she was going... But then again, as Gaz had said, it didn't make much sense that he was so anxious to find Tak... After all, she had tried to destroy the Earth as he knew it... But... she had also been the first one who had ever listened to Dib... She had been the first to believe him about Zim, and she had been... the first real friend Dib had ever had...

The cool breeze of a spring day passed over Dib, but he simply shook his head, ignoring the fresh air. Of course she had believed Zim was an alien! She had been one too! And she was never really his friend... she had just used him to get information about Zim... It had all just been a lie... Dib had no one... no one but Gaz, and even she hated him... Dib shook his head even more, and grabbed the sides of it with his hands. No one liked him... no one loved him... he was a complete and total loser... His only friend had been a lie...

"Hey, Dib. Are you gonna stand there shaking your head all day or are we going to actually do something?"

Gaz's pointed shoes were now in Dib's line of sight. He looked up to see her glaring down at him, one of her eyes half-way open.

"I got tired of sitting on the sidewalk, waiting for you to stop shaking." Her glare deepened at these words.

With a heavy sigh, Dib put his hand at his sides, and stood up straight. "I'm sorry... I was just... thinking."

"Well you can do that on your own time." Her hands were balled into fists, and she seemed to be fighting the urge to hit him. He must have really scared her earlier if she was actually trying **not** to hit him. "Where's Tak, isn't she what you came for?"

Dib turned round to look at the house he had just exited, a deep sadness in his eyes. "I don't know. She seems to have disappeared. But it's no longer my problem. Let's just..." He turned to look at his sister, the sadness still in his eyes. "Let's just go home."

Gaz stared at him, both of her eyes now open. She looked confused, almost as if she didn't recognize him. Dib forced a weak smile to crawl across his face, and then he began to slowly walk past her, heading back home.

But suddenly, Dib was thrown to the ground, along with Gaz, who fell on top of him. A huge explosion had just occurred, though there was no evidence anywhere around of one. Which meant it had to have come from inside Zim's base! Dib leapt to his feet and ran back towards the house, throwing Gaz to the side in the process. Dib heard her small grunt from hitting the ground, followed by a growl, but couldn't care less. Something inside told him that Tak was the reason behind the explosion. He threw open the door, to find both Zim and GIR practically at his feet. There was a gaping hole behind them, right in the center of their living room. The tv on the right wall was still intact, and still playing Zim's movie. But then it flashed, and upon it was a very familiar face.

It was her.

An explosion sounded from behind. Tak whirled her head around to stare behind her, where a huge hole now lay. The bomb had been placed three stories below this, which meant it had caused more damage than she had thought it would. At least Zim would get a nice view of the sky from his couch now... She smirked, cackled softly, and then turned back around, where Zim's Voot Cruiser awaited her. She leapt into the open cockpit, and opened up the control screen, which emitted a small beep. Quickly navigating her way through the cruiser's computer, she soon found the screen she wanted. With a push of a button, a link was formed between Zim's ship and his tv downstairs. She smirked again. She wanted the idiot to witness her steal his ship - wanted to make him suffer - wanted to rub it in his ugly green face.

Zim's living room, along with a nice new hole, appeared on the monitor. She looked from side to side, and found Zim sprawled on the floor to her left, with Dib standing nearby. Her heart skipped a beat. _Dib wasn't supposed to be here._ She quickly took her eyes off him, and focused them on Zim. She couldn't let herself think about Dib, especially not right now... Her curiosity would have to wait.

"Heheheh... Get up, **Zim**!" She sneered, her working antennae flattening against her skull.

Zim pushed himself to his feet, and stared over at the tv, meeting Tak's eyes.

"Tak?" A look of bewilderment was on his face.

She smirked."Yes, it's me. So good to see you, especially from the cockpit of your Voot Cruiser!"

Zim gasped, and pointed a sharp finger at her.

"You're in my Cruiser?"

Her taunting smirk widened. "Yes... And I'm going to use it to get back to Irk, where I'll get The Tallest to send out the Armada, and destroy this pitiful excuse for a planet, along with everything on it!"

Zim's antennae flattened in anger. Good...

"Where are you broadcasting from?" he demanded, his finger now pointing accusingly.

Tak's eyes narrowed. "I just said I was in your ship..."

"Aha! Stupid fool! You've revealed your location, due to my incredible ingenious!"

If Tak had had an eyebrow, it would be raised. "I... already... said that..."

"FOOL! FOOOOL!"

Zim's spider legs erupted out of his pack, and he leaped into the air, out of the view of the tv screen, but into Tak's upstairs view. Tak gasped, realizing she actually had been foolish. She should have left sooner! She switched on the Voot's jets, and started to take off, putting up the windshield of the ship as she did so. But Zim yelled, and leaped at his ship, managing to latch on as the Cruiser shot into the sky. Zim's blood-red eyes glared at Tak through the windshield, and she glared fiercely back. Two of Zim's spider legs began ramming the shield, attempting to pierce through. Tak grunted, and threw the ship forward in an attempt to dislodge Zim. His spider legs held tight, and one managed to break through the shield, right into Tak's shoulder. Tak's eyes grew wide from the unexpected attack, and looking into Zim's eyes, she could tell that he had not expected it either. With a grimace, Tak seized the metallic leg and thrust it back outside, causing Zim to lose his balance. He only barely managed to hold on, by sticking his hand into the hole his extra leg had just made in the windshield.

This entire time, the Voot Cruiser had slowly been rising higher and higher into the sky. Zim looked down, and Tak could see he was finally registering this height in his mind. He panicked and slipped, barely holding on to the ship, and causing it to tilt downwards. Tak's head smashed into the windshield, and her hand smashed into a button, which opened the windshield. She tumbled out, and grabbed onto Zim's waist before she could fall too far. He attempted to shake her off, but she held fast. The two struggled for a while, Tak refusing to let go, and Zim refusing to let her stay. Tak might have managed to regain the ship, but Zim then did the dirtiest thing possible - he grabbed her broken antennae, and twisted. With a screech, she released him, which sent her careening towards the ground. The last thing she saw was Dib, before darkness overtook her once more.

Dib just stood there and watched as Zim and Tak yelled back and forth. His mind was working too fast for him to do much else. How had Tak gotten inside Zim's base completely undetected? Dib had been trying to get past the newest upgrade of Zim's security systems for a month now, and here Tak was, sitting inside Zim's ship and broadcasting to them from Zim's tv. Dib was dumbfounded. He really **had** underestimated her.

"Aha! Stupid fool! You've revealed your location due to my incredible ingenious!"

Wait... Tak was still inside Zim's base? Dib looked up at Zim's ceiling, which now had a gaping hole in it. That was not a good idea. Even Zim could stop her if she didn't hurry and get out of there.

"FOOL! FOOOOL!"

Dib gave a start as Zim leaped into the air, and up into the second floor. Oh, crap! Zim was after her!

"You just gonna stand there, or are you gonna do something?" said Gaz, beside him.

Dib glanced at her, thought for a quick second, then sprinted over to one of the elevators in the floor.

"Hey, GIR, tell the computer to take me up to the second floor!"

GIR got to his feet, and stared at Dib with unblinking eyes. An insane grin overtook his face. "Say the magic word!"

Dib rolled his eyes. " **Please**?"

"YAY!"

GIR leaped into Dib's arms, then screeched "COMPUTER, DO THE UPPY THING!"

Dib shot upward, flying past the second floor and the roof, up into the sky. He curved as he went through the air, and landed face-first in Zim's roof, GIR still in his arms.

He groaned, and slowly got to his feet, putting GIR down as he did so. GIR smiled happily up at him.

"That was fun! I like you, big-head!"

Immediately following this statement, GIR flew into the air and latched himself onto Dib's forehead. Dib tried forcing him off, but failed. All he could do was wait for GIR to get off, but luckily GIR saw a squirrel nearby, and decided to investigate.

"COME HERE, SQUIRREL! I'MA EAT YOU!"

GIR ran off. Dib watched him go, shaking his head and slightly admiring Zim for being able to put up with that robot.

Turning back to the event at hand, Dib looked to the sky. High above him, he could see Zim's ship, with Zim outside of it, floating in the air. The ship seemed to be shaking back and forth, as the enemies attempted to overcome each other. He watched this battle in the sky with intent eyes, anxiously awaiting the outcome. His teeth clenched as he saw Tak fly out of the ship, and clamp onto Zim. The two Irkens shook back and forth, and the ship took a dive, heading down to the ground. Then a screech pierced his ears, and there she was - falling. He gasped, and leaped into the air, unwilling to let her fall to her death. As she neared him, he managed to grab a hold of her, but in doing so he fell through the hole in the roof. A scream burst from his throat as he plummeted down, past not only the second and first stories, but several others below that. Tubes and pipes flew past him, and the floor rose up quickly to meet his face. Then everything went black, and he knew no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Footer:
> 
> "Wasn't that fun? I thought so too... GIR's so cute... I had to get him in here somehow. Isn't the image of GIR and Zim sitting on a couch eating popcorn and watching a movie together cute? I sure think so... But then again, I am slightly overly obsessed with Zim... so, ya know... Well, anyways, please review, I appreciate it. Hope you liked this chappie."


End file.
